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amelbook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sophie_gray's review against another edition
5.0
this took me so long to read but SO WORTH IT. I was like surely it doesn’t need nearly 900 pages… but it does. so so so good even better than the secret history i couldn’t stop thinking about this everytime i put it down
terrificarno's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
britt0478's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bailey11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sabramsky's review against another edition
2.0
Really didn't enjoy this meandering book. Every-time I tried to stop it though, a good part would come up. So there were some interested parts, but overall not worth a read.
jenpaul13's review against another edition
3.0
The smallest thing can have the largest impact on your life. It can be the cause of endless "what-if" moments that bring you to question everything. This kind of thinking hunts Theo of Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://jenpaul13.wix.com/makinggoodstories#!blog/c10zu.
A tale of tragic loss, secrecy, and superiority from knowledge of that precious secret. These small moments have a tendency to define us. Following Theo through his life after having taken the priceless Dutch painting "The Goldfinch," we learn about the stresses and pressures, and their short and long term effects, that come from the secrets that our youth so commonly hold, and, in Theo's case, that "The Goldfinch" fosters.
It was incredibly descriptive language that carries the reader through the tome of 770+ pages of narrative. The parallels drawn between surface and depth with "The Goldfinch" painting and the people in Theo's life was well done and rather subtle in it's delivery. Good character portrayals; I had a good sense of who they were, particularly Boris and Hobie (who reminded me of a combination of Hodor and Hagrid).
How things all worked out was far too convenient for my liking--it had more of a Hollywood ending that frustrates me because it's nothing like the harsh realities of real life, which there was plenty of in the beginning of the novel. I felt the story was not established in time too well in the beginning when the catastrophic events occurred--case in point is that I thought that it was part of 9/11, but it seems to have taken place at a different time. I then just suspended a need to know when it took place.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://jenpaul13.wix.com/makinggoodstories#!blog/c10zu.
A tale of tragic loss, secrecy, and superiority from knowledge of that precious secret. These small moments have a tendency to define us. Following Theo through his life after having taken the priceless Dutch painting "The Goldfinch," we learn about the stresses and pressures, and their short and long term effects, that come from the secrets that our youth so commonly hold, and, in Theo's case, that "The Goldfinch" fosters.
It was incredibly descriptive language that carries the reader through the tome of 770+ pages of narrative. The parallels drawn between surface and depth with "The Goldfinch" painting and the people in Theo's life was well done and rather subtle in it's delivery. Good character portrayals; I had a good sense of who they were, particularly Boris and Hobie (who reminded me of a combination of Hodor and Hagrid).
How things all worked out was far too convenient for my liking--it had more of a Hollywood ending that frustrates me because it's nothing like the harsh realities of real life, which there was plenty of in the beginning of the novel. I felt the story was not established in time too well in the beginning when the catastrophic events occurred--case in point is that I thought that it was part of 9/11, but it seems to have taken place at a different time. I then just suspended a need to know when it took place.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
vellichor_amor's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, I loved this book. It was beautifully written, the first hundred pages or so I kept stopping just to reread some of the passages because they were so gorgeous. I loved the story, the characters, and I think that the arc of it was perfect and came together just right- however, I think it could have been done in about 200 pages less. By the end, I was skimming and then skipping altogether those same gorgeous paragraphs that I was enjoying so thoroughly in the first half of the book. I think for me, heavy literature like this is like a rich, decadent dessert, and I prefer it in smaller servings.
kessler21's review against another edition
3.0
This book is hard to review. I liked it, but I am having trouble explaining why I liked it. Instead, with this book, its much easier to explain why I didn't like it. Its almost as though I enjoyed the book despite itself.
Theo Decker is 13 years old when his mother is killed and he steals a painting which set into motion events throughout the rest of Theo's life.
I lost my mother at a young age but unlike Theo, I had a loving and stable father to raise me as well as older siblings to help throughout my life. Still, the rest of my life was changed the moment my mother died, such as Theo's. I spend a lot of time thinking about how life would have been different for me had my mother not died and, how my life would be had I not had a loving and stable father, and its possible for it to go somewhat like Theo's.
The writing of The Goldfinch is masterful and beautiful. I let the audio read to me as I followed along in the book, and the audio was wonderful as well.
However,
There were not enough peaks in the story line and too many troughs. For much of the book, there seemed to be no direction to the story. Without the audio, I am pretty sure I would have given up on the story. Add in Theo and especially his friend Boris being easy to dislike...It made for some rough reading as well.
Then the cliche of the art underworld. The Russians everywhere. Secret meetings where Theo is immediately liked or disliked due to his knowledge, appreciation and charm and a trip to Amsterdam that is confusing.
And my biggest issue. A character would say, "I have something to tell you" then 17 pages (hyperbole) of beating around the bush, telling why they have to tell or why its hard to tell but never telling them what needs to be told. This drove me insane, over and over.
And the ending of the book. Starting with the trip to Amsterdam, so about the last 200-300 pages, kill the attachment I had to the little bit of story that was there, especially the very end, a philosophical look back at all the events of the book, the rationalization that being good or bad is out of our control and being bad is necessary to create good. Not only is the ending unnecessary, but a load of self justification crap.
I still don't why I feel closely to this story though, why I feel like I liked and enjoyed it. Why I feel the need for 3 stars. But I did. Though the book has many flaws, it has just enough to make me like it.
Theo Decker is 13 years old when his mother is killed and he steals a painting which set into motion events throughout the rest of Theo's life.
I lost my mother at a young age but unlike Theo, I had a loving and stable father to raise me as well as older siblings to help throughout my life. Still, the rest of my life was changed the moment my mother died, such as Theo's. I spend a lot of time thinking about how life would have been different for me had my mother not died and, how my life would be had I not had a loving and stable father, and its possible for it to go somewhat like Theo's.
The writing of The Goldfinch is masterful and beautiful. I let the audio read to me as I followed along in the book, and the audio was wonderful as well.
However,
There were not enough peaks in the story line and too many troughs. For much of the book, there seemed to be no direction to the story. Without the audio, I am pretty sure I would have given up on the story. Add in Theo and especially his friend Boris being easy to dislike...It made for some rough reading as well.
Then the cliche of the art underworld. The Russians everywhere. Secret meetings where Theo is immediately liked or disliked due to his knowledge, appreciation and charm and a trip to Amsterdam that is confusing.
And my biggest issue. A character would say, "I have something to tell you" then 17 pages (hyperbole) of beating around the bush, telling why they have to tell or why its hard to tell but never telling them what needs to be told. This drove me insane, over and over.
And the ending of the book. Starting with the trip to Amsterdam, so about the last 200-300 pages, kill the attachment I had to the little bit of story that was there, especially the very end, a philosophical look back at all the events of the book, the rationalization that being good or bad is out of our control and being bad is necessary to create good. Not only is the ending unnecessary, but a load of self justification crap.
I still don't why I feel closely to this story though, why I feel like I liked and enjoyed it. Why I feel the need for 3 stars. But I did. Though the book has many flaws, it has just enough to make me like it.